Rising Force
by Kea525
Summary: What would you do if one day you could read someone's mind?  Well, this happened to Mandy Fox.  Her best friend Nick DeLuca helps her through it.  They are pushed into a situation that they aren't prepared for and have to face their greatest fears.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_The best day of my life is finally starting!_ I thought to myself as I got ready for school. I knew for sure that Bobby Stuart was going to ask me to prom. I had liked him since freshman year! I believe in that thing that people say, "A crush only lasts for a maximum of 4 months. If it exceeds, you are already in love." I think 2 years is a little longer than 4 months!

It took about 2 years but I finally decided to go for it. I'll walk right up to him, make a conversation about prom, and see what happens from there. I heard from Amy Strong who heard from Jackie Reeds who heard from Annie Havoc who heard from Amanda Thomson who heard from Andy Jackson who heard from _Bobby_ that he liked me but was too shy to talk to me himself. That is a _fact _that he likes me. You can't get more truth than word of mouth.

So today I decided to wear my hottest outfit. I'm going to wear a short black skirt and a flowing floral shirt that you can see my cleavage in. I've seen the way guys looked at me in that outfit and I was sure that Bobby would like it too. My long, straight, golden, blonde hair and long sexy legs help too.

Oh! By the way my name is Mandy Fox. I've lived in this same place all my life. It's a little place called Vista Heights. We have about 7,000 people in our whole town and about half of them are kids. There are 1,200 kids in my high school alone. I go to a private school called Vista Academy. Only the best of the best get in. I guess I'm the best of the best.

I looked in the mirror and saw my shining amber eyes looking back. My make up was just right and I was showing just enough skin to make Bobby notice me. I'll admit it, I look hot today. I heard a car honk from outside and knew right away it was my best friend Nick. We have driven to school every day since I can remember.

His full name is Nicolas De Luca and is my best friend that I have ever had. He has short curly black hair and piercing blue eyes. He is Italian and moved here when he was five years old. He has the cutest accent and speaks Italian fluently. His only downside is his obsession with comic books. He loves everything that has to do with super powers. His favorite is The Avengers. Other than that, he would be a real catch to all the ladies out there. But sadly girls, he has a girlfriend named Amy Strong. She happened to be one of my closest friends too. But I'll talk about her later.

Quickly I blew a kiss to myself in the mirror, picked up my designer purse and ran outside. "Well, well, well," he said in his smooth Italian accent as I slid into his silver Camaro. "Who are _you_ trying to impress today?" I just flashed him a perfect white smile as he continued, "If you wanted me to be impressed, all you would have to do is walk out the door. That's it. You're beautiful just the way you are." I laughed at his cute joke and wondered why any other guys aren't this way.

"Thanks babe, buuuuut… I'm almost already taken," I practically sung. Nick just looked at me quickly with his mouth open in shock. "Yes! I heard that Bobby likes me! Finally! I'm going to confront him today!" I just kept smiling like there was no tomorrow. I felt like I was just floating. Nothing could bring me down!

"Are you sure?" he asked me. I just looked at my best friend. He was supposed to back me up and get all excited! Isn't that what friends are for? I just gaped at him until he spoke again. "Well who told you this?" I explained the chain of mouths this story went through and he still didn't seem to believe me. "I guess if you believe it, I'll back you up. You know I'll always be there for you. Just promise me that you'll be careful."

"Of course," I said as we pulled up to the beautiful campus we went to school on. As I got out of the car, Nick and I said our daily quote to each other. "I'd take a bullet for you, baby" we said in unison as we ran to the two opposite sides of the campus to our lockers. Luckily for me, Bobby's was in the same building as me.

As I walked inside, I ran my fingers through my hair and dabbed some mint lip-gloss on my lips. Finally I saw my target and walked right up to him. Bobby was a football player so he was big, hot, and popular. "Hey Bobby!" I said, trying not to shout in his face. He turned around and looked at my face and then his eyes slid down my entire body. I guess he liked what he saw.

"Oh, wow, hi Mandy. How are you?" He stuttered as he closed his locker clumsily. He didn't look back up to my eyes until I cleared my throat.

"I'm pretty good. I'm kind of nervous though," I said as I lowered my voice and tried to sound distressed.

"Why?" he asked as he took a step backwards and hit his head on the lockers. I giggled and went on with the conversation.

"Well, I don't have a date for prom yet and it's only 3 weeks away! Isn't that just terrible?" I asked as I gave him puppy eyes and tried to look as cute as possible.

He laughed and then spoke again, "Well isn't that a coincidence? I don't have one either. Maybe we should go together?" _And then mess around a little bit after?_ I heard him say. A smug smile took over his face

"Wait, say that one more time? Sorry, I zoned out." I giggled and tried to listen this time.

_Damn is she stupid? Whatever, she's still so hot and easy. I'll spend one night with her and then ditch her sorry ass the next morning. _He said without his lips moving. Was I hearing things? "I said that we should go together. It would be fun." He smiled but I just stared at him.

"You think I'm easy?" I said, almost starting to cry. I hadn't had a boyfriend before. How was I possibly easy? "Be a man and tell me the truth."

"Wait, what? I never said that… Why would I say that to someone as beautiful as you?" he asked with an angelic smile. I looked into his eyes again and heard him say, _did she hear my thoughts?_

"You know what? Now isn't a good time for this… Um… Just text me later." I said with a fake smile. Something was happening that I couldn't figure it out. Maybe I was just going crazy? A lot of people went crazy if they were under too much stress right? Maybe that's what was happening. Yeah, that's completely normal.

"Okay, sure. Feel better. I'll talk to you later," he said again before he walked to class. _Yes! _I heard him say as he walked down the hallway, _Maybe I'll have her in less than a day._ I just shook these thoughts out of my head and walked to my locker. Suddenly the first bell rang and the hallway filled with students.

_Wow, she looks hot today, _a boy with blonde hair said to me as he gave me a head nod. _What a slut!_ A girl said as she passed me and gave me a dirty look. My head was full of everyone's thoughts and I felt like the room was spinning. I ran as fast as I could to the Girls' Bathroom and closed myself into a stall.

I took out my iPhone and texted Nick: _**S.O.S. **_He was the only one who could help me. This was crazy. There's no way this could really happen.

Finally he texted me back and I told him where I was. He walked into the girls' room and locked the door behind him. "Mandy! I'm here please come out!" His voice was so silky smooth that I would do whatever he told me. I walked out of the stall and ran right into him with a huge bear hug. We fit together perfectly. He was always my best friend, the one that would protect me, and the one that I would always love as a brother.

"Nick," I said out of my quivering lips, "I think I can read people's minds."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"You… You can what?" he asked after breaking away from our embrace. He looked confused but he didn't look scared like Bobby did. He almost looked… _proud._

"I… I think I heard a few people's thoughts. I heard Bobby's and a bunch of people's in the hallway and all I have to do is look into their eyes. Then BAM I heard what I don't want to hear. Please just tell me that I'm going crazy and make me feel better," I said trying as hard as I could to not look into his eyes. I knew I was actually hearing something but I didn't want to admit it to myself.

Nick didn't say anything for a few moments and it made me a little nervous. Okay fine, I was a lot nervous. What if he actually thought I was crazy and he sent me somewhere for crazy people! _No,_ I assured myself, _he wouldn't do that to me._ "What do you mean reading minds?" he said trying to look into my eyes. I dodged him a few times but then finally gave in and looked into his amazingly vibrant blue eyes. _No, no, no. Reading minds? What happened to super speed and flying? _he thought.

"What do you mean super speed or flying? Are you trying to make a joke at a time like this?" I said as I lightly shoved him away from me.

"I'm sorry," he said as he smiled goofily and took a step towards me. I smiled back and put my arms around his neck. He caressed my face and I laughed softly. "So can you really read minds?" he asked.

"I really think I can," I said as I bit my lip nervously. I was ready for him to ask what he was thinking or something lame like that, but surprisingly he just accepted it and moved on.

"Well that's really, really cool and I'm jealous," he said as he got really close to my face. I could smell him, that's how close he was. He smelled good. The smell he had was almost spicy. _Electric, _I thought, _that's what he smells like. _The Late Bell rang and made me jump. I totally forgot we were in school for a little while. I just was caught up in the moment… _What moment? _I thought to myself, _He has a girlfriend. I'm making this whole thing up in my mind. _"So can we leave the girls' bathroom now?" he asked as he broke away from our embrace. I nodded and unlocked the door. He took my trembling hand and swung open the door.

To my surprise, a girl was standing in front of the door. Her arms were crossed and the expression on her face was… _scary._ Nick dropped my hand and practically threw it back at me. It was Amy Strong, Nick's girlfriend and she was completely getting the wrong idea. She had dark features. Her skin was dark, her eyes were dark, and her hair was dark, except for the red feather extension. Her style was totally lame. She was one of those I-need-attention-so-I'm-going-to-dress-like-a-total-freak people. She had piercings all over her. Probably some that weren't able to be seen. She wore too much makeup and her clothes looked like she didn't care what people thought or said about her. As you can tell, she was a polar opposite of me. And she was _not_ someone to mess with. Even though we were such opposites, we were best friends since the third grade when I told her I liked her butterfly lunchbox. I was the only one who talked to her. She was different.

"What were you two doing in there?" she said with an edge to her voice. I decided to try out my new powers. Well if I had any of course. I looked into her eyes and heard her voice. _That little cheating bastard! Why the hell did I trust him with a girl like _that_? She's beautiful and easy. If he says they weren't doing anything I'm going to… _Why did everyone think I'm so easy! I'm still a virgin! And she knew that! It felt like she pierced my heart. I had no idea she thought of me that way. Was she just being friends with me to keep an eye on me?

"Nothing sweetheart. We were just talking. She's having a hard time right now. She needs me more than ever," he said calmly and clearly Amy didn't believe him. She just stood there with her arms crossed and her hip popped out. I looked into his eyes, but I didn't hear anything. Maybe it was just a fluke thing? "Fine if you don't believe me, just leave. I don't need you to believe me. If you really knew me, you would know I wouldn't lie to you and I definitely wouldn't cheat on you. _EVER._"

"If you knew _me_ you would know how hard this is for me. You _know _my family history. You _know_ I won't deal with this. And you know what? I _don't _believe you are as good as you say you are. Oh, and _you,_" she pointed a finger at me; "You are a slut. And no one likes you as much as you think they do." She turned around and stormed away.

"Come on baby, come back. I'm sorry. Well, no I'm actually not! If you don't come back right now, we're over!" Even though this was a terrible sentence, it sounded beautiful. His voice flowed like a song. I couldn't speak. I looked into his eyes out of fear. He looked tough but his eyes were soft. I could tell this was hurting him. A lot. I suddenly heard his voice again. _What's this going to do with the gang? She's one of the strongest ones in the group. What's going to happen now? _What was he talking about?_ Please come back, Amy. I miss you already. _

"What are you two doing out here! You're ten minutes late to your first class! Get going now!" a teacher yelled through an open door. _Two people? _I thought to myself. _What about… _I turned around to look at Amy and she was gone. _She just went into a classroom _I tried to reassure myself. _No, she's in my next class and it's in the opposite direction. Where the hell did she go?_

I shook the thoughts out of my head and turned to Nick. He looked devastated. "Let's get to class," I said as I wrapped his fingers around his tenderly. He didn't look at me. He didn't move until he spoke again.

"No," was all he said. His grip tightened on mine and he turned to me suddenly. "I'm leaving. You coming?" He turned away and I followed closely behind. We slammed the door open and just like that, we left school. I let go of his hand for a few moments to get back into his silver Camaro. We didn't speak the whole car ride. He didn't tell me where we were going or why we were going there. I didn't ask I just let him drive me wherever he wanted.

Finally, we got to the beach where I remembered hanging out with Amy every day after school freshman year. We had such a good time, scoping out the hot guys, and gossiping about the girls who wore tiny bikinis. If only I knew what she thought of me.

We tore right past the beach and up the mountain. There was only one mountain in the entire county and it was in Vista Heights. It had cliffs that overlooked the ocean and it was absolutely gorgeous. The cliffs is where people brought loved ones to impress them or maybe to get lucky. _Why was he taking me here? _

The car swerved up the dirt road higher than I ever went before I felt the air get thinner as we climbed higher and higher. When we stopped I was amazed by the view. I shivered as I looked over the edge at the blue ocean below. When I turned around Nick was walking into a dark cave. I never even knew it existed. "Nick, how did you know about this place! It's beautiful!"

"It… It has been passed down through my friends. They showed it to me when I… When I had some problems. It helped me figure things out. Here I'll show you." He stomped away into the cave but he yelled out for me to stay away. I was completely puzzled by this gesture but my eyes grew wide as the whole cave was ablaze with light that started as I heard Nick scream.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Nick!" I screamed as the sudden light disappeared and silence washed over the secluded cliff. All I heard was Nick's heavy breathing until I heard a groan in response to my scream. "Oh my God! Oh my god! What the _hell_ just happened! Are you okay?" I yelled as I sprinted into the cave. I followed his struggled breathing until I finally found Nick lying on the floor. He was curled up into a ball and sweat poured down his face. I knelt down next to him and stroked his hair out of his face. Soot was streaked across his face and his jaw was clenched. He cradled his hands against his chest. Like a strong man, he didn't cry.

"That never happened before," he croaked. "I thought I was getting better, I… I never had that much power before." He still clutched his hands to his chest.

"What just happened? Show me your hands. I can possibly help you." I tried to comfort him by stroking his hair and face. Finally, he uncurled his hands to show me. They were burned so badly that they were raw and bleeding. I shivered as he flinched. Only a small gust of wind caused him pain. "What can I do to help you? Do I need to call 911? Should I get some ice?"

"No!" he screamed and it echoed in the small cave. "The ice will only make it worse! Just wait…" he shushed me as I tried to argue. We just waited and watched his hands. After 30 seconds or so, new skin began to form. It rippled as it covered the old, burnt, dead skin. Relief washed over his face as his hands returned to normal. Finally, he sat up on his own and looked into my wide, shocked eyes.

"But… how… Hands?" I stuttered while still staring at his new, clean hands. _How was that even possible? His hands were just destroyed and now they're not? _

"Okay, just let me explain…" All I could do to answer was nod. "So, as you can see, you're not the only one with… well, advanced abilities. But, you _are _special. Your parents died trying to protect you. We all knew you were special, and some people didn't like that. Some people wanted you out of the picture. Supposedly you are going to save us all. Your mom could fly and your dad had super speed. They were an amazing couple. They helped tons of people. When you got adopted, my family moved here to watch over you and guide you when you found your power. There's a lot more to the story, but I don't know the details so I'll have to talk to my dad about it. Anyway, just to let you know, you're a late bloomer. Usually you start to see these abilities at 9 or 10. I had my first spark at 8." We sat in the dark and I listened to every single word he said. I hung on his every word. _Me?_ I thought _I'm this special?_

"So what _is_ your power anyway? Burning yourself?" I laughed at my lame joke. I just had to lighten the serious mood. This was so cool! My best friend had super powers! We could be like some kind of team! We could save lives! We could be super heroes!

"How do I explain this…? Um well, I conduct electricity, I guess. I can shoot, well, lightning out of my hands. I'm still mastering it though. My dad said it took him until he was 21, but he says I'm learning very quickly so maybe I'll learn everything before I'm out of high school…" he said. There were stars in his eyes. I could tell he loved being able to talk to someone about this with. "You know what? I love being able to talk about this to you." I laughed at how he read _my_ mind this time.

"Good," I said. "I'm happy I know about you. It makes talking easier, since everything is out in the open." He suddenly looked away from me, but I just shrugged it off. It didn't mean anything.

"Yeah, I'm happy too," he said as he looked at me again. He smiled a little bit but it flashed away almost as fast as it showed up. _What was that all about?_

"What's your dad's power anyway?" I asked. I had known this man forever and never knew he had these 'advanced abilities'. _How didn't I notice?_

"His are the same as mine but he's a pro now. Hey! You should eat dinner with us tonight!' he suggested as he stood up and patted soot off of his clothes. "He'll show you his power. It's awesome." He held his hand out to help me up. I mumbled a thank you and pulled myself up.

"So is the power passed down through the generations?" I asked as we walked back into the sunlight. I squinted as the sun hit my eyes.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, shading his eyes. "My grandpa and uncle have it too. My mom doesn't have a power but she knows about ours. She thinks it's cool."

"Wait, why is my power different than my biological parents'?" I asked as we got back into his amazing car.

"Well, that's another reason why I want you to come over tonight. I'm curious too," he paused for a few seconds to get into the car and buckle up. "I have no idea why that happened. That shows that you really are special. You _should_ be able to fly or run really fast."

"Oh," I said, puzzled. Nick started the engine and started to drive back down the mountain. At first I just sat there and thought about this morning. _Why me? How come this happened to me? It could've been anyone else in the world and I'm the one with the annoying ability to read minds when not wanted, _I thought. Then I totally changed my mind. _Why am I not thankful for this amazing power? All I need to do is master it. How hard could that be? It's _my_ mind isn't it?_

I closed my eyes as the hot sun beat down on my face. _This is great… No worries in the word. I'm with the greatest guy in the universe and I can freaking read minds!_

Suddenly a thought was pushed into my mind. It was Nick. _Wow… she looks beautiful. _I tried not to smile because he didn't know I heard his thoughts. I started thinking about Amy and what she thought of me. She probably thought I was the _worst_ person in the world. The thing that bothered me was that she thought I would do that to her. I would _never_ cheat with her boyfriend. Even if I did like him! Did I?

_AHH! _I screamed in my mind. _I have to stop thinking about Nick! Nothing happened! _Finally I fell asleep and took my mind off of all these confusing feelings.

Suddenly, I felt scorching heat on my face and I opened my eyes wide. What I saw would haunt me for a long time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey Guys! I haven't uploaded in a while! I hope you like this chapter! I promise I will try as hard as I can to update every week! Please review for me and tell me what you think! I love reviews!**

Chapter 4:

_As I looked around, I recognized some things, but everything was different in a strange way. The only difference was that everything was in ruins. I looked down Shady Ave. in the middle of our town and saw what used to be my school, the gym, and a few stores. Fire blazed and consumed the rest of Vista Academy. I felt panic rush through me as I rushed down the street to a figure lying on the ground. I couldn't control my actions. It was like reliving a memory from the pas except the strange part. _It never happened.

_I knelt down next to the fallen person. He lay on his stomach as his arms and legs were sprawled out. Blood pooled around the teenage boy. I tried to scream when I realized who it was. _Nick._ I didn't want to turn him over. I just wanted to wake up and forget about this strange dream. I knew I didn't have a choice, so I slowly turned my best friend over. I cringed as I saw his face. A pan of love shot into my chest and I felt nauseous. I guess I was hoping it wasn't Nick. Slashes across his chest oozed blood and his eyes were glassy as they looked up at me. "Oh Nick!" I gasped as I leaned down and kissed his lips tenderly. The world swirled around me as my lips touched his. Where our skin touched tingled and my heart beat loudly as I put my hand on his. My head spun as I closed my eyes and kissed him deeper. My stomach filled with butterflies as we broke away from our fantastic kiss. "Oh! I'm so glad you're alive! I was so afraid!"_

"_Mandy," he gargled. "I love you." He went limp in my arms and I closed his eyes. He was beautiful even in death. Tears ran down my face as I laid nick carefully on the ground. I got up and walked back down the flaming street. Tears were in my eyes, but revenge was in my heart. This _has to be a dream,_ I thought. _Come on, wake up.

"Mandy," I heard Nick say. He sounded _extremely _far away. "Mandy! Come on! Talk to me!" It sounded like he was an angel calling me from heaven. Finally I opened my eyes. I looked around and noticed that we were parked on the side of the road about ten feet further from where I fell asleep. The clock said it was 10:06. We left school around 8ish. _How long was I asleep? _

I blinked a few times and then answered him slowly, "Was I asleep?" I giggled because I didn't really need to know the answer. I knew I was asleep. What else could've happened?

"No!" he practically yelled. _What? _"You just stared out into space and wouldn't answer me! You were like that for almost 45 minutes. Are you okay?" he looked into my eyes intensely and was only a few inches away from my face. He was truly concerned.

The dream flashed into my mind again and I suddenly burst into tears. I hugged Nick tightly around his neck. "I dreamed… I saw…" I stuttered.

"It's okay," he whispered calmly. I could feel his warm breath on my neck. "What did you see? You're safe."

"You… Dead," I sobbed into his shoulder. I started shaking like crazy because I wasn't sure what was reality and what was a dream. The dream was so vivid that it felt like I actually was there. I could feel the heat, I could smell the ashes, and I could taste the blood on Nick's lips. There was no way it was just a dream

"W-What did you see?" he asked, trying to be strong for me.

"You died in my arms. Y-you had slashes across your chest. You told me you loved me and then died." I felt Nick tense up and he pulled away quickly. I decided not to tell him about the kiss.

"Well, I guess tha-that's something else we can talk about tonight," he told me as he broke away from our hug. He moved my hair out of my face and kissed my forehead softly. His lips were soft and smooth while in my dream, they were rough and urgent. _The last kiss. _"We should go somewhere fun," he told me with one of his effortlessly beautiful smiles. "The beach maybe? There will be plenty of people to spy on. Now it'll be easy." We used to sneak around public places and spy on people. We would make code names for each other and the people we spied on. We would try to guess who they were, what they were doing, where they were going, and what they were thinking. It was actually very hard, but that was why it was fun.

"Yeah, let's do it!" I said and smiled back. "It's a perfect place for me to practice." I felt excited to relive one of our childhood memories.

"Perfect," he said as we buckled up and got back on the road. "We'll just stop at your house and then come to the beach." He pulled sunglasses out of the glove compartment and covered his blue eyes.

"No, no, no!" I almost yelled as a thought crossed my mind. "My mom is home! She doesn't know we skipped! We can't go to my house! I'll just go in the water in my clothes." I looked down at my perfect outfit. _So long great clothes. Hello wet hair. _

Nick laughed. "I know you won't ruin your clothes. You were so excited about them this morning. We'll just have to be sneaky." He raised and lowered his eyebrows. This made me laugh along with him and relax. He let me know I would be able to do it.

"Alright, I'll do it. I don't know how, but I will. You have to help me get inside though," I made him promise.

"Of course I will! I would take a bullet for you, baby." I smiled at our quote. I couldn't remember why or when we started saying it to each other. Nick lifted his sunglasses and looked into my eyes for a moment longer than needed. _What's going on, _I thought to myself. My mind flashed back to my dream again. I remembered him telling me that he loved me and at that moment I loved him back. But do I now? Did he actually love me? I felt my cheeks get hot as I thought; _Do I feel the same way? _The word _yes_ crossed my mind. He was my best friend since birth! How could I possibly be in love with him? "Mandy? Are you still with me?" I heard him ask as I jumped out of my trance.

"Yeah, I am. I'm just… Thinking," I told him. It _was _the truth.

"About? It seemed pretty intense!" he laughed. Now is where it started to get sticky.

"Lots of stuff," I admitted. "You, me, my dream, Amy…" I trailed off. Then the door opened for me to change the conversation. "You don't even seem upset about Amy! What's going on in _your_ head?" I asked calmly.

"Well, we weren't exactly going out… People just assumed… Um… Well, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you, but she has powers too. That's why we hung out so much. People just started saying we were dating and we chose not to complicate things and just went along with it. We didn't want anyone to question why we were so close so quickly and find out the real reason." Then he sighed really loudly. "Amy got really into it and thought we actually were dating. She tried to kiss me a few times, and told the school about our dates that we never went on. Every time I pushed her away and told her that I liked someone else…" he froze and stuttered a few times before continuing. "Well, I knew this was going to happen soon because we never _were_ dating. I was pretty prepared anyway. Also it would be awkward anyway since we are both best friends with _you._"

"Wait! Rewind! You like someone! You never told me! You never like anyone! Tell me! Tell me!" I squealed. I just wanted to change the subject! Enough about me already!

"Um… You don't know her like I do," he told me, dodging my eyes. _Damn it! _I thought, _He doesn't want me to know who it is!_

"I doubt it! I know everyone you know!" _Come on! Tell me already!_

"She's from when I was really little. We still talk all the time," he finally looked into my eyes. _Crap! She can't find out now! _he thought.

"I don't believe you, buuuut I'll drop it. I can tell you really don't want me to know. Tell me when you're ready." We rode in silence until we got to my house. When we pulled onto my street I said, "Now this is where the fun begins."

**I hope you liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Nick put his arms on my shoulders like in a football huddle. "Okay, so get in through the window, get your bathing suit, and get out," he whispered in his best coach's voice. "Break!" we said softly in unison.

I snuck out of the car and ran around my neighbors' trees. I eyed my first story window that was closest to the stairs. _Why didn't I take the downstairs room instead of Danny? _I thought. Danny was my adopted brother and he was 12. He took the lower, smaller bedroom when we moved here.

I sprinted across the open, still lawn to the window. Birds scattered as I ducked into the bush under the window. I pushed open the unlocked window and hurdled inside. "Who was that?" my mom yelled through the house. I heard her footsteps coming my way so I pushed myself into a small closet in our hallway. I barely fit so I kept the door open a little bit. My mom passed the closet and closed the window I came through. _Seriously mom! _I thought. Then she locked it and I started to shake. _How is Nick going to get to me if I'm in trouble?_

I heard a knock at the front door and my mom scurried across the house to get it. I peaked around the corner to see who was at the door. "Hi Mrs. Fox!" I heard in a smooth Italian accent. _Nick? How did he know I was in trouble? _

My mom answered and she sounded just as surprised as I was. "Oh! Hi Nick! Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I have a free period right now. Mandy asked me to pick up her algebra book. She forgot it here this morning."

"I haven't seen it around here…" she glanced around the house for my book. The funny part was that my algebra book really was at home.

"I'm pretty sure she said it was up in her room. Can I go up and get it?" _He's like a mind reader! How did he know all of this?_

My mom seemed skeptical, but she answered, "Um… Yeah… Go ahead Nick." I could see he was trying to hide a smile. He knew he got away with it.

"Thanks Mrs. Fox!" he yelled as he ran upstairs. I tiptoed up right in front of him. _He totally just pulled that off! _I thought.

Finally, we got upstairs and into my room. I closed the door behind us just in case my mom wanted to snoop. "OMG! That was amazing! I can't believe she believed you!" I gave him a huge hug around his neck. Nick put his arms around my waist and squeezed me tightly.

"It was no problem," he said as his eyes lingered in mine for just a moment, but it felt like longer. His eyes were beautiful.

I kissed his cheek tenderly and whispered, "Thanks." We both smiled and I looked into his eyes. I heard nothing. Was he thinking anything?

I rummaged thought my drawer and took out two bathing suits. "Yellow or blue?" I asked. The yellow one looked better on me, but the blue one showed more skin.

"Yellow," he said confidently. "It brings out your eyes." I tried not to blush as I took out a yellow sundress and headed off to the bathroom to get changed.

"I'll meet you in the car," I said right before I closed the door behind me. I put my back against the door and thought about Nick. I really could not wait for dinner with his family. Suddenly I remembered that the door never clicked shut.

The door opened behind me and I landed on my back with a loud thud. "Oh my God! Are you okay?" he whispered loudly. I just groaned in reply. My back was throbbing from the fall and I knew I was going to be in pain the next day.

"Nick?" I heard my mom call from downstairs. "Are you okay?" Nick's head swung around towards my mom's voice and just watched the stairs as he thought of a good answer.

"Yes Mrs. Fox! I just dropped the book on the floor!" Nick called back smoothly. He picked me up and set me down on my bed. He sat down next to me and rubbed my back where I fell. It felt pretty good and I started to lean toward him we were cut off by a sudden noise.

I heard footsteps coming upstairs and knew right away that it was my mom. "That sounded like a lot more than a book!" she said as her footsteps grew closer. Nick put a finger to his lips and then ran out of the room. I was wondering how he was going to handle this situation without tipping off that I was in my room.

"Yeah, that's because… I fell down with it!" _Nice save!_ "I stumbled over a shoe on her floor and fell. I was just too embarrassed to tell you. Not many people know I'm a klutz." I almost laughed out loud. Nick was the most graceful person I knew. No one could ever call him a klutz.

"Oh! Nick, are you alright? Do you need any ice?" my mom asked. I thought about how he reacted when I suggested ice. Was it some kind of weakness?

"No!" he cut her off. "I'm fine. I'll just grab the book and be on my way!" He was lucky I didn't have algebra today so my book really was at home.

"Okay… I'll be downstairs if you need me!" she said as I heard her footsteps go back down the steps. Nick reappeared in my doorway and nodded, telling me everything was alright. I stood up stiffly, my back cracking, and ran to the bathroom to change.

"I'll meet you outside," he whispered as he grabbed my algebra book off my desk. I nodded in response and then shut the bathroom door behind me.

I changed as fast as I could and pulled a brush through my windblown hair. I even dabbed on some makeup. If I must say so myself, I looked pretty hot. _Hopefully Nick would notice… NO! What am I thinking!_

As I opened the door, I heard Nick and my mom talking in the kitchen. Nick was smart and brought her there. From the kitchen, they couldn't see me come down the stairs and down the hallway and out the window.

I tiptoed down the stairs slowly and quietly and into the hallway. I opened the window that I came in though and jumped out. As soon as I hit the ground, I heard my mom's voice. "Why is this window still open? I thought I just closed it!" I froze and pushed my body up against the house. The window clicked closed and my mom walked away without seeing me.

I sprinted across the yard and back into Nick's silver convertible. I just sat there and caught my breath until Nick strolled around the corner.

"We did it," he said with a sneaky smile as he got into the car.

"Oh yes we did," I said as I buckled my seatbelt and drove off to the beach.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hey Guys! I haven't updated in a while because i have been soooo busy with track and swim! I hope you guys like it! Comments are appreciated!_**

Chapter 6:

I clicked on the radio as we pulled off my street. I fiddled with it until I found a song that I liked. _Last Friday Night,_ by Katy Perry blasted out of the speakers and I sang along with it. I had a terrible voice, but I didn't care. I just loved music.

Nick started laughing next to me. I knew what he was laughing about, but I still wanted to know what he was going to say. "What!" I exclaimed defensively.

"You, my dear, are a very bad singer," he said and laughed again. His eyes sparkled as he threw his head back in laughter.

"Wow! Thanks a lot! You're such a great friend!" I said and hit his arm playfully as we parked the car in the beach's parking lot.

He held his arm and looked at me in shock. "Oh, you are going down!" he said as he unbuckled himself. I jumped out of the car, not even bothering to use the door since the roof was down. I ran down the beach towards the water. The sand warmed my toes as I ran.

I turned around for a split second and saw Nick running right behind me. His shirt was off so I knew he was going to throw me into the water. I screamed like a little kid and tried to run faster, but I stumbled and almost fell. I felt Nick's strong arms wrap around my waist and lift me off the ground. I screamed again as he held me tightly.

I squirmed and wiggled until he put me down again. He laid me down like a baby on the sand and knelt over me. I was laughing so hard that my eyes were tearing. Nick's face was very close to mine; his chest, inches away from me. "I told you that you were going down," he said and laughed softly.

"That's not fair!" I giggled as I smacked the sand next to me. "You're so much bigger than me! I can't take you on!"

"Well, you earned it!" he laughed as he stood up and put out his hand to help me up. I took it and he pulled me up off of the blistering hot sand.

I jumped onto Nick's back as the sand started to sear my feet. He grabbed my legs to hold me on and we both started laughing really hard. We both wouldn't let go as he spun around trying to keep himself steady. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked between breaths.

"The sand is too hot!" I told him and squeezed him tighter. He carried me like I weighed nothing at all. He kept walking like I wasn't even there.

"It is? Oh, well, hot doesn't bother me. Cold does," he said as he shifted my weight to a more comfortable position.

"Yeah, what's with that anyway? Is it like a weakness or something like that?" I felt his muscles tense and he got serious as soon as the words came out of my mouth. _Maybe it was. Do I have one?_

"I'll tell you more about that later," he promised, trying to end that conversation. We were silent for the rest of the walk to the ocean. I just listened to everything around me. I loved the sound of waves crashing on the shore, the seagulls crowing in the air, and the rustling of Nick's feet in the sand. I could even hear Nick's heart thumping in his chest.

As we approached the wet sand, I pulled off my dress, threw it off to the side, and started to let go of Nick. Suddenly, he held my feet and didn't let me drop to the ground. He started sprinting towards the water. I screamed and tried squirming out of his grasp for the second time that day. He swung me around to his front and held me like a baby, yet again. I playfully smacked his bare chest and told him to put me down. I hated to get my hair wet. Who looks good with wet hair? I certainly don't.

Finally, when he got about waist deep in the water, he stopped and looked down at me. "I'm sorry, Mandy. That was a mean joke. I wasn't really going to throw you in the water," he said and his eyes told me that he was sincere.

"It's alright," I said as I laughed. "Now just put me down."

He smiled and said, "Okay," as he threw me into the biggest wave ever! I covered my heard with my arms and strangely, I didn't feel the water rushing and swirling around me. I stood up quite easily and looked around. The first thing I saw was a guy walking towards me. I watched him like he was in slow motion. The good looking guy ran his fingers through his wet hair and I could see all of his muscles move, intensified by the water dripping off of him.

He was glistening from the water on his chest. His hair was spiked out in all directions like he shook the water out of it like a dog. He looked… beautiful. _I'll change my statement from before,_ I thought, _someone can look good with dripping wet hair. _That one person was Nick.

The only thing that would make him look better would be if he was smiling one of his blindingly white smiles. Instead, he wore a confused expression. I waded through the waist deep water towards him as the glimmer on his chest wore away. "What's wrong babe?" I asked as he reached out and touched my hair. "Yeah, I know, my hair is wet and I'm not freaking out. Ha Ha. Funny."

"No, your hair is… dry? How is this possible? I threw you into a freaking _wave_! And your hair looks perfectly… normal. If anything, it's even a little windblown which you need _air _to do," he said

I reached up and touched my hair. To my surprise, it _was _dry. My jaw dropped open in surprise. "Wha- How? Did I?" I stuttered as I took a step back and almost stumbled into the water.

Nick caught my hand and helped me back up. "It's alright Mandy. Just breathe. You're okay, just dry. You're not harmed in any way," he said as he mingled his fingers into mine and helped me out of the water.

"All I did was put my hands up in defense. I didn't try to do anything. It was just a natural reaction. No biggie! Now I'm suddenly waterproof?" I said as he walked me to part of the beach that was shaded by the cliffs. I couldn't get my mind off of what just happened.

Nick just laughed. "You're not waterproof! Your legs are wet!" I laughed along to my stupidity.

"Then what is it? I definitely went in the water right? I never felt it…" I babbled on and on until Nick cut me off.

"I think I might know what happened, but you have to promise not to laugh." I nodded furiously and looked into his eyes. "I think you put a bubble, or force field around yourself. There's no other way to explain it." It was weird because I heard him think and then say the sentence in sort if an echo. I heard it twice and still didn't believe it. It sounded crazy! _Me? Reading minds? Seeing weird dreams? Now force fields? What am I going to be able to do next, move things with my mind? _

"No. That can't be it! There must be another way to explain it-" he cut me off.

"This is the _only_ explanation. It can't be anything else!" he said as he held my hand and looked into my eyes. He really was saying what he believed and he was keeping his mind quiet to prove a point.

"Can we please just go to your dad now? I want to know what's going on!" I practically yelled at Nick. I knew his dad was the only person to even _possibly _know what was happening.

"He's not home now! You'll have to wait until 5ish and it's only about eleven-thirty. You'll get your answers. No worries," he reassured me.

_5ish? How can I wait four and a half hours? _"Then let's go somewhere else! The movies? Let's just go somewhere that I don't have to see people!" I yelled as tears slid from my eyes. I didn't normally cry much, especially not in front of a guy, but I felt safe with Nick.

He wiped a tear from my cheek and looked into my eyes. "Alright, sounds good. Let's go."


End file.
